Chapter 30: Let’s Go! To the Trial!

“Father!” Eli trotted to her father, her smile blissful. With her eyes closed, others could only see her as an innocent girl, like Alicia. Such smiles betray what horrendous act they had done earlier. Her joy was met with an eternal frown from Count Shadowstep. The count glared at the knights accompanying her.

“Hey, I must have heard the reports wrong, but I heard my daughter was in jail together with those lowborn. Is that true?”

“Yes, I have confirmed that the bandits are captured! We have also interrogated them! It turns out—” Eli was about to deliver her report to her father, but a thunderous roar barked out from the count to the knights.

“You incompetent knights! Why did you let my daughter go somewhere as filthy as a jail! Are you really knights?”

“Eh? But…” Jadenbale gasped.

“I am sorry! Count! We have failed in our duty!” Jadenbale bowed, asking for forgiveness. He wanted to defend himself but stopped. The count was right. It was unbecoming of a knight to let a lady see something like a jail or a dungeon. He didn’t know why he had let Lady Elidranthia go to the jail where the bandits were kept.

“Father. I am your child! You entrusted me with this duty — to capture the bandits. I had to verify them myself! Isn’t that what nobles do?”

“That’s right! We simply obeyed Lady Elidranthia’s will!” one knight nodded.

“... Don’t go overboard. Those lowborn are not healthy for you. Keep your distance.” Count Shadowstep, knowing when to pull back, relented. He then turned to the knights.

“So, what did the vermin say? Was it Duke Luca?”

“No sir, after thorough interrogation, they said they were hired by the Reapers. We don’t know who their client was.”

“Hah… I see. Well, I should have known. I guess that’s more believable. There is no way Duke Luca or the Crown would hire these lowlifes directly. Rodrick, hire more wagons and load the bandits onto them.”

“Father! What about the children? We must save them!” Eli cut in. The knights had forgotten to mention one crucial detail. The prisoners!

“Hm? Children?” The count eyed the knights.

“Yes, Milord. When we investigated their hideout, we found three civilians. Two women and one girl. We suspect they planned to sell them in neighboring countries.”

“Where were they from?”

“We’ve interviewed the captives. The woman came from Duke Luca’s village at the border, but the child came from Count Ellynias’ territory. She was kidnapped while playing alone outside.”

“We’ll return them, of course. Is that all?”

“Erm… no. From interrogating the bandits, we found out they had more slaves and loot. Their hideout is in the south, bordering Duke Luca’s territory.”

Count Shadowstep looked away from Elidranthia’s pleading eyes. He didn’t need to ask to know what she wanted.

“Father…”

“You know we can’t afford to make enemies with a duke, Elidranthia.”

“It’s at the border. We can just say it was on your territory. If the duke says otherwise, we can just claim that we’re here to exterminate the bandits. The bandits had desecrated our land! It is Duke Luca’s duty to exterminate them—we’re doing him a favor.”

“Milord, what Lady Elidranthia said is correct. We’re doing a favor for Duke Luca, not committing aggression,” Jadenbale nodded. “Moreover, the bandits have loot they plundered from caravans. We could use that to our benefit.”

“... If this had happened at another time, I would’ve agreed. But we’re going to trial next week. This is the biggest case we’ve ever faced. All three dukes will be present.”

“All three?” Jadenbale’s eyes widened.

“Even the Crown will attend—and we have no solid proof that Duke Luca was the perpetrator.”

“... Will Duke Bron help us?”

“Yes, Duke Bron will help us. Alicia, you want to stay in Shadowstep, right?”

“Yes!”

“If you say that to the Mage’s Union, they will not take you from us. They’ll try to placate you—offering money, status, and so forth, to you and your father. Will you still stay in Shadowstep if that happens?” Count Shadowstep asked. His gaze pierced into Alicia’s soul. If she showed even the slightest hint of desire to leave Shadowstep, the trial was as good as lost.

“No! I want to be with Elidranthia! That is my purpose in life! The goddess said so!” Alicia puffed out her chest proudly. Her words sent Count Shadowstep reeling. He had prepared several strategies to persuade Alicia.

He was a count. Persuading children with duty, praise, and ambition was simple enough. Alicia was a simple girl. He could’ve used her father, wealth, or titles to keep her in Shadowstep. But all his plans were rendered meaningless. Alicia’s words threw him for a loop. He wouldn’t have believed her if she’d spoken in clichés—loyalty or friendship with Elidranthia. But the mention of a goddess gave her conviction weight.

“Your purpose in life, huh? What does the goddess say? What does she want with my daughter? I’d have called you a lunatic—but you’ve been right twice so far.”

“Erm… That’s a secret!” Alicia hesitated for a second, then deflected.

If Alicia told them the truth, Eli would be in danger. If they knew Repeara had blessed Elidranthia—and that she would grow more bloodthirsty with each kill—many would try to assassinate her.

If they succeeded, Alicia would lose her purpose in life. If they failed, she still would have failed her duty—because that would mean Eli had killed her attackers.

So Alicia chose to keep it a secret.

“Secret?”

“The goddess said I shouldn’t tell anyone, actually. But well… this is this, and that is that. Maybe one day I’ll have to tell you—but not now. The time isn’t right yet. I didn’t even know the full story.”

“Oi… I am a count, you know. You dare lied to your lord?” Count Shadowstep grabbed the insolent girl’s head. His anger flared. How dare this little girl keep a secret from a count—and so bluntly, too.

“But that’s what the goddess said!” Alicia replied.

“Do you even know what the goddess Sistielle’s plans are?”

“No. I do not,” Alicia lied.

Count Shadowstep tilted his head, studying her expression. He had faced cutthroat noblemen before—reading a child should’ve been easy. Yet he couldn’t tell if she was lying.

The reason was simple. The premise was flawed from the start. Alicia derived her knowledge from the web novel, not the goddess. The goddess had never told her anything. She had only told Alicia to kill Elidranthia—or to prevent her from killing anyone.

The truth and lies were tangled so intricately that the count was left confused. His guts told him that Alicia wasn’t telling the whole truth, but he couldn’t tell whether she had lied, withheld part of it, or made everything up.

“Alright. I suppose the goddess’ plan is beyond even my understanding. I have no choice but to accept it. As long as you swear loyalty to Elidranthia and to Shadowstep, I won’t press further.”

“Thank you, Count Shadowstep.” Alicia curtsied.

“Let’s go. We need to be in the capital in four days,” the count said.

“Wait. What about the bandits and the children?” Eli asked.

“Jadenbale.”

“Yes, Milord.”

“Do it stealthily. Dress like bandits or mercenaries. Do not wear our crest.”

“Milord?”

“Duke Luca can’t complain if we exterminate the bandit hideout and leave before his army arrives. Even if the captives say we were the ones who attacked, there’s no actual harm done in his territory. But if his army catches your men inside, he has every right to kill them—and accuse me. The trial is ongoing. If we lose, Alicia will be gone, and our family name tarnished. In the worst case, I’ll be dismissed for coup d’etat. So, which is more important—the lives of those captives and our land, or your pride?”

“... Yes, sir. We understand.”

The knights stood at attention when they realized the gravity of the situation. If they got caught, Duke Luca could accuse Count Shadowstep of staging a coup d’état.

“Let’s go.”

“Father. Maybe I should…” Eli started but stopped herself. She was worried about the knights. There was no way Count Shadowstep would allow her to join them. If she were caught by Duke Luca’s army, her father would be next on the gallows.

“That’s out of the question.”

“Yes… you are right.”

“Good. You may return to the manor.”

“Father, can I come with you?” Eli asked. Joining the knights was impossible, but at the very least, she wanted to see the trial through to the end. Alicia had sworn loyalty to her. She was Eli’s precious friend.

“Very well. I suppose you could.”

“Thank you!”

“Milord, how many knights may we bring to raid the hideout?”

“As many as you need. I need only five knights to escort me to the capital. Remember—dress like bandits. You may not wear our crest or our swords.”

“Yes, sir.”

The group then separated. As the knights went south, Count Shadowstep, Alicia, Rodrick, Elidranthia, and John headed to the capital.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful this time. no bandits attacks or anything of note happened.

“Stop looking outside, Eli. That’s unbecoming of a lady,” Count Shadowstep said. Eli, who had been pressing her face against the glass window of the carriage with Alicia, pulled back.

“Yes, Father.” Eli corrected her posture.

Soon enough, the great capital of the Althemer Empire came into view. The white walls and golden wheat fields stood pristine—like a gem on a crown of gold. A medieval sight straight out of a fantasy land.

“We’ve arrived early. Should we register now, or wait until tomorrow? I believe arriving early might win us favor with the judges,” Rodrick said.

“No. They asked us to come within the week. That was already pushing it. We’ll be fine even if we show up tomorrow. We should use this time to prepare these two. At the very least, we need to clean them up. John, Alicia—tomorrow is the preliminary investigation. You must stay in the palace from morning until the trial.”

“No weapons or armor. I will give John two pairs of clothes bought from nearby merchants. Alicia can use the maid’s clothes as they are,” Count Shadowstep interrupted.

“Hm? Shouldn’t we let them go with the clothes they’re wearing? The poorer, the better, right? We need an image where someone targeted a vulnerable mage’s father. If Mage Union is present, we should placate them.” Rodrique asked.

“I changed my mind. Slane is on this. If they sense we didn’t take care of Alicia’s family, he might use that against us.”

“Should we make John wear his knight armor, then? That would show they belong to us, right?” Rodrique said. “Without the sword, of course.”

“No. That armor is too cumbersome. And ours isn’t decorative—it’s purely functional. Ugly, compared to the knights here. Slane might pick on that too. Better to wear clothes we buy here. He can’t mock them if they’re from the capital—doing so would mean mocking the capital’s fashion trends.”

“I see. We shall do as you say.”

“Wow. You are surprisingly honorable today, unlike—Ouch! That hurts!” A fist landed on the insolent girl’s head.

“Watch your mouth. Especially against nobles. Ask your father or Rodrique for clues. Do you want to die?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I don’t think they would kill Alicia. Mages are valuable, after all,” Rodrique whispered.

“Yes, Milord. I, commoner Alicia, shall hereby pay close attention to my language. I sincerely apologize for my rude comments just now.”

“…”

“If you can speak like that forever, I would be most grateful.”

“That would simply be unacceptable, Milord. One can’t stay awake nor alert all the time. We should all relax in our home—Ouch! You hit me again! This is abuse against children!”

Count Shadowstep didn’t answer as they went toward a tailor for John before staying at a luxury inn.

The whining Alicia was promptly ignored.